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PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 7:23 pm 
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Plans to increase wheelchair accessible taxis in Mid Sussex

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/po ... ex-4724751

Mid Sussex District Council is thinking of removing the cap on the number of hackney carriages it licenses. The change is being considered in an effort to increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxis on the roads.

Since 2002, the council has limited the number of hackney carriages it licenses – as opposed to private hire taxis – and there are currently 154.

Of those, only 31 are suitable for wheelchairs.

During a meeting of the licensing committee on Monday (July 29), members recommended that licence numbers be allowed to increase on the proviso that all new ones will only be issued for wheelchair accessible vehicles.

They also recommended that the issue be subject to an eight-week public consultation, starting on August 5.

The council received a 137-name petition highlighting the shortage of wheelchair friendly taxis in Burgess Hill.

It was acknowledged that most of them concentrated around the railway station in Haywards Heath, where drivers were more likely to find a passenger.

But committee members pointed out that, as the drivers are self-employed, this may still remain an issue – no matter what was decided – as no one can tell them when and where to work.

It was reported that several licences had been returned to the council but other drivers had refused to take them on given the cost of a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

A number of issues will have to be considered before any changes are made to the current policy.

They include congestion at taxi ranks, the financial impact on existing licence holders and the potential loss of custom with more drivers on the road.

A suggestion that the age limit for vehicles be raised to 12 years was not supported by the committee.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 7:27 pm 
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My understanding is that saloon plates are well under £10,000, so the chances of someone buying a £50/60/70/100 WAV to get a plate is zero.

Be interesting to see if Mid Sussex can find a solution to a problem that no one has thought of yet, but I'm most certainly not holding my breath.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 8:09 pm 
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Sussex wrote:

A suggestion that the age limit for vehicles be raised to 12 years was not supported by the committee.

Doesn't government best practice say that arbitory age limits should not be used and it should be based on emmisions?


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 9:35 am 
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grandad wrote:
Sussex wrote:

A suggestion that the age limit for vehicles be raised to 12 years was not supported by the committee.

Doesn't government best practice say that arbitory age limits should not be used and it should be based on emmisions?

Quite a nice area and generally nice people, but when it comes to licensing they are in the dark ages.

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